'If Ever There Was a Case for Clemency, This Is It'

As President Biden considers pardons for more perceived targets of President-elect Trump, he should not forget the 1,500 vulnerable former federal inmates on home confinement, who risk returning to prison under Trump. That's according to Hugh Hurwitz, former assistant director at the Bureau of Prisons, who was involved in moving more than 36,000 low-security risk, non-violent offenders into home confinement under the CARES Act during the COVID-19 pandemic. The inmates transferred had completed more than half their sentences and tended to be older with underlying health conditions.

"I co-chaired a committee where we carefully assessed every eligible person to ensure that not only did they meet the criteria, but that there was a low likelihood that they would commit more crimes if placed on home confinement," writes Hurwitz at the Hill, noting the program was "universally deemed a success." "Very few of the people in home confinement were rearrested for new crimes. In fact, a Bureau Of Prison study concluded that those in home confinement under the CARES Act had a lower recidivism rate than those not under the CARES Act, and may actually have contributed to a decrease in violent offenses," writes Hurwitz.

While most have been released from custody, some 1,500 individuals remain on home confinement under the CARES Act while serving as productive members of society, Hurwitz writes, adding there are fears they'll be forced back to prison under Trump, whose DOJ Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion stating the Bureau of Prisons would be required to recall all individuals placed in home confinement once the pandemic was over. Though that same office reversed the opinion under President Biden, giving discretion to the Bureau of Prisons' director, there's no point waiting to see what Trump will do now, writes Hurwitz, whose op-ed was published days before Biden pardoned his son, Hunter. "If ever there was a case for clemency, this is it." Read the full piece here. (More presidential pardon stories.)